Heather Robertson

I am currently a student in the Design Engineering Master’s cohort at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. I am also a member of Brown's Computational Design Group, led by professor Adriana Schulz. My work centers making as a liberatory practice, motivated by the (dis)ability and queer liberation movements. I approach this subject both from a theoretical, academic perspective -- researching computational design and creative technologies -- and through the concrete practice of making -- often with technology as a physical medium. My work particularly centers humor and play, recognizing joy as a foremost form of resistance.

When I am not working, I cultivate joy through nature: hiking, biking, climbing, and swimming whenever the circumstances allow. During the baseball season, I can also be found at Fenway Park cheering on my beloved Boston Red Sox. My greatest hobby, though, is spending time with my cat, Bailey, who has accompanied me through 12 states, 2 countries, 3 degrees, and much more.

Resumé

Education

Brown University & Rhode Island School of Design | Providence, RI
Master of Arts in Design Engineering | Expected May 2026

Smith College | Northampton, MA
Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science with Highest Honors | GPA: 3.95/4.00 | May 2025
Concentration: Interdisciplinary Making | Minor: Mathematical Sciences
Honors Thesis: Tilability of Platonic Solid Nets in Multiple Dimensions

Université Grenoble Alpes | Grenoble, France
University Diploma of French Studies with Highest Merit | May 2024

Skills

Design and Fabrication: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, IoT, Fusion, Illustrator, Figma, Laser Cutting, 3D Printing, Machine Embroidery

Programming Languages: Java, Python, C, Ruby, Assembly, Mathematica, TeX, SQL

Frameworks and Tools: Git, Bash, Linux, ROS, Rails, HTML/CSS, UML, Markdown, OpenCV

Research / Laboratory Experience

Lab Assistant | Brown University Computational Design Group | 12/2025 - Present
Conducting independent study on low-cost digital display fabrication and computational design for descent;
Fabricating and testing embroidered, multistable metamaterials for development of parametric design tools.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow | Smith College Robotics and Mechatronics Laboratory | 05/2024 - 07/2024
Designed and fabricated 5 autonomous robots integrating sensing, actuation, and embedded control;
Mentored students in robotics outreach, translating technical systems into accessible learning experiences.

Research Assistant | Abarca Insectology Laboratory | 09/2023 - 12/2023
Designed and built an autonomous moth-monitoring device for field deployment, reducing space and energy consumption through hardware rework;
Conducted fieldwork and iterative testing to analyze and improve reliability in outdoor environments.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow | Smith College Linkage Laboratory | 05/2023 - 08/2023
Designed and proved an algorithm generating tilings from solvable polyomino sets;
Optimized algorithmic efficiency and computational performance for geometric construction problem.

Leadership Roles

Organizational Committee Member | Design Engineering Café | 01/2026 - Present
Designing and facilitating weekly community events for design critique, prototyping, and technical skill-building;
Coordinating guest lectures connecting students with practitioners in design, engineering, and research.


Departmental Liaison | Smith College Computer Science Department | 05/2023 - 05/2025
Facilitated structured feedback between students and faculty, including through representation of student concerns in monthly faculty meetings;
Organized departmental events to meet student needs and strengthen community engagement.

Honors and Awards